Sarajevo has Forgotten how Sandzak Treated Refugees from Bosnia

Dani, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, April 12 1999

While, to the disbelief of Bosniaks from Sandzak, Sulejman Ugljanin is holding meetings with Bosniak leaders in Sarajevo, Rasim Ljajic, like a captain of the ship which is leaking on all sides, is trying to save what can still be saved. Our collocutor explains the motives pushing Bosniaks from Sandzak into a new exile, the attitude of Sarajevo with respect to the refugees and Sandzak, and gives predictions of the possible outcome of the Kosovo tragedy and Milosevic's status.

Mr. Ljajic, a large number of Bosniaks has left Sandzak since the beginning of the NATO air strikes on FRY. What is the current situation in Sandzak? Are there any incidents which are contributing to the current refugee wave?

Fortunately, there haven't been any serious incidents although there is a lot of fear and insecurity among the local Bosniak population. The emigration of Bosniaks has decreased in the last two days, in parallel with the decrease in tensions. That is also the consequence of the decision by the Federal Government to close all borders to the men with military service obligations, between the age of 18 and 60. The mobilization of the ethnic Serbs is currently underway, and Bosniaks have been asked to contribute their vehicles (vans, trucks, jeeps, buses) to the Yugoslav Army (VJ). The commander of the Uzice Corps of VJ, colonel Grujica Davidovic, has visited Novi Pazar and called on the Bosniaks not to leave the country, and guaranteed their personal, legal, and all other sorts of security, including the safety of their property. At the same time he appealed to the local entrepreneurs to help financially VJ and the Serbian police. Almost all private factories and shops have closed. Nine people were arrested and sentenced to a month in jail because of "unauthorized raising of prices of food and other speculative acts". There are still long queues in front of the City Hall and the Police station. People are queuing for personal identification documents, passports, and other documents.

Day to be Fired

It is difficult to give a precise estimate, although the figure of 20,000 refugees who have left to Bosnia, Turkey, Montenegro and Western Europe, has been used. Already, there are rumors that many will not be allowed to return, because they have deserted and left the country during the state of emergency. In some companies, those who haven't showed up for work for even a single day have already been fired.

Why are people leaving Sandzak? Do they fear for their own lives?

Undoubtedly, that is the first and most important reason. The other one is fear from general mobilization, which has been announced, and the third group of emigrants consists of those who had already intended to leave Sandzak for economic reasons and are now using this occasion to reach one of the countries in Western Europe or Scandinavia.

What is your recommendation to the Bosniaks in Sandzak: to leave or stay here?

I, above all, am trying to remain a responsible politician. Therefore, I am neither crazy nor excessively brave to claim that everyone should stay or leave. I am trying to attain a realistic picture of the situation and convey that to the people, without excessive emotions. Therefore, my impression is that Milosevic does not need incidents in Sandzak while there is a war in Kosovo. Besides, even without a single fired bullet, Bosniaks are emigrating from Sandzak, which drastically changes the ethnic composition of the population in favor of the Serbs. The problem is, however, that irrational actions cannot be predicted, and that is exactly how Milosevic behaves. In such circumstances no one can assume the responsibility to give any advice to the people in Sandzak. We are doing everything in our power to stabilize the situation and prevent emigration of the Bosniak population.

Is is possible that the emigration is organized?

No, there is no organization. Everything is based on individual decisions.

Bosniaks from Sandzak haven't been received very well in Bosnia. Do you feel betrayed because of such attitude of the motherland?

Most of the Bosniak refugees from Sandzak were convinced that a "red carpet" would await them in Bosnia. However, Bosnia is a country with huge internal, political, and social problems. She already hosts numerous refugees. In spite of that, people expected at least more warmth and solidarity, simply because in Sandzak refugees from Bosnia had been received with open arms. This was a good occasion to demonstrate solidarity towards the brothers in trouble and deny all those stories in the Croatian and Serbian media about the alleged enmity towards Bosniaks from Sandzak in Sarajevo. This way, we gave our opponents another argument that confirms the theory about the intolerance between Bosniaks from Sandzak and Bosnia.

Ugljanin's Third Escape

A great disappointment is obvious. Some refugees even returned after two days in Sarajevo. I've heard that a woman rented a room to her own sister, a refugee from Sandzak, for $200. Even the individuals who have spent as many as three years as refugees in Sandzak are now renting rooms to their former hosts and charging market prices. There are claims that rents in Sarajevo have significantly increased since the arrival of the refugees from Sandzak. Unfortunately, very few families have volunteered to accept these unfortunate refugees. People in Sandzak are now remembering the tears they shed because of the suffering of our brothers in Bosnia during the war, and free lunches prepared by the whole city for the refugees from Bosnia. And now, our refugees are standing alone, with small children at the Sarajevo bus station and hoping that someone will show pity for them and offer to find them housing.

Are you in touch with the Bosniak leaders in Sarajevo? Has anyone called you?

Many of my numerous friends from Sarajevo have phoned. As far as the representatives of the authorities and SDA for Bosnia-Hercegovina are concerned, I was contacted by SDA vice-president Halid Genjac and member of the main council Osman Brka as well as Dr. Enes Pelidija on behalf of the SDA expert team for Sandzak.

The present attitude of the Bosniak leadership towards Sandzak is only an extension of the previous lack of care for the Sandzak Bosniaks. Is it not true that the expectations, feelings, and hopes of the Sandzak Bosniaks with respect to Bosnia are only a failed investment with deadly consequences for the local Bosniaks?

I do not think that it is prudent to open that topic in these difficult times. Every comment I make could be interpreted in many different ways. However, after the end of this crisis, it will be necessary to openly discuss this topic. We must finally find out whether Bosnia is our great illusion, a promised country, or the motherland which should be concerned about the status of its diaspora. I have on several occasions unsuccessfully tried to initiate discussions on this topic. Ugljanin has even informed the members of his party that some individuals in Sarajevo had advised him to demand the status of a republic for Sandzak. Such attitude towards politics is not only amateurish, but also highly irresponsible and even dangerous. Politics based on emotions and personal desires is in advance doomed to failure. Emotions are good if demonstrated in other places and circumstances, but in politics they can be deadly. Hence, we must determine our realistic political goals and define our activities based on that. Besides, since the founding of SDA in Sandzak in 1990, our political activity cannot be given a passing grade. There are less Bosniaks here than in 1990, we are politically totally disunited, the remaining Bosniaks in Sandzak are totally confused, while we haven't progressed an inch towards the realization of the goals proclaimed in 1990. If in 10 years you haven't achieved any progress, that is an indication that either the team or the strategy, or tactics or all of them must be changed.

It is true that Sulejman Ugljanin has during the last decade, every time the situation in Sandzak was the most difficult for Bosniaks, found a way and excuse to run away from Sandzak. What is the impression of his latest journey to Sarajevo at the time of total panic among the population?

I've heard that Ugljanin has returned to Sandzak. On the one hand, his absence has caused outrage and consternation among Bosniaks, while on the other hand, his return now causes fear that with his mindless actions Ugljanin could aggravate the local situation. This is the third time Ugljanin has escaped from Sandzak. Fear is definitely a normal human emotion. But it is not normal when someone from a cozy and safe distance, via remote control, directs political behavior of those who are in the fire. In this whole story, Ugljanin is not all that important. He is only a product of the total crisis in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, but also a symbol of the attitude of Sarajevo towards Sandzak.

I Fear the End of the Crisis

There is already a saying here: pity those who are defended by the Americans and fed by the Russians. At this moment, it is difficult to decide whether this is an adventure, a planned course of action, or something third. It is certain that Serbia will be militarily mutilated after NATO intervention. It is also certain that the Albanians will pay a very high price. Since the state of emergency has been declared here, I cannot talk about everything openly and call what is happening in Kosovo with its real name. After this, the issue of whether Serbs and Albanians can live together at all, will have to be opened. Even before he war there was a lot of mistrust between Serbs and Albanians, and now it is superfluous to talk about the degree of mutual hatred. In my opinion there are several options for the final solution of the Kosovo problem. First, Kosovo can be given total independence after a NATO ground troops invasion; secondly, and unfortunately, a repetition of the tragic aspects of the operations "Flash" and "Storm" [in which Croatian armed forces expelled approx. 150,000 of Serbs from Croatia] with the almost total expulsion of the Albanians from Kosovo; thirdly, Serbia, based on the situation on the ground will accept negotiations, resulting in the division of Kosovo, about which I have already spoken on several occasions; finally, some sort of a transitional solution (international protectorate) can be established, and after a transitional period the decision whether to divide Kosovo or give it independence will have to be reached.

What is your assessment of the current Milosevic's position?

Objectively, Milosevic is now stronger then in 1989, in the midst of "anti-bureaucratic" revolution. He used the NATO intervention to totally neutralize what was left of the opposition and push into the background concerns about all the economic and social problems. Because of all that, I am more concerned about the period after the end of this crisis than the current situation. Everything is moving towards the final "Iraquization" of Serbia. The country will become a black hole of Europe. More precisely, we will get something which can be called single-party "democracy", which has in the past been advocated by the ideologue of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Mihajlo Markovic. That means that we will have a ruling party, SPS, and a number of satellite organizations. There is another, somewhat more optimistic scenario, but I cannot talk about it because of the war-time limitations.

Have you personally considered leaving Sandzak?

I've been through more difficult times in the past. Neither then, nor now, have I thought about leaving Sandzak.